Ball and pin handling mechanism including a resilient pin deflector



Aug. 10, 1965 G. FRIED 3,199,870 BALL AND PIN HANDLING MECHANISMINCLUDING A RESILIENI PIN DEFLECTOR Filed May 18, 1962 24 22/25 f n l/l/ /9 5 /,{*"/Z Z6 4]@ l; /ll/ f/ /f 9 K Z .i2 y I L- P Lf 5? 5 4 /6/7/5 c O 1 44 /3 l 20 /.9 2/ C' /0 f1, l, 0" Il I, I\"\ l/ l '1 (D L O OPff f/ 7' lNvEN-roR GEORGE FRIED United States Patent O Jersey Filed May18, 1962, Ser. No. 195,924 Claims. (Cl. 273-43) This invention relatesto bowling pin spotting machines, and more particularly, to mechanismsfor preventing ball and pin jams in the pit of a bowling alley, in orderthat the'pl-ay of a game may proceed without interruption from frame toframe to the end of a game.

In the game of bowling, and especially where the game of lbowling isplayed on bowling lanes which are serviced by automatic bowling pinsupporting machines, it is important not -only to the proprietor of thebowling center but also to players that a game proceed with as fewinterruptions a-s possible. In this way, the proprietor receives thebest return on his investment, and the player is subjected to ya minimumof annoyances which might be caused |by stoppage Vof the machine orstoppage in play due to ball and pin yjams -in the pit of a bowlinglane. The present invention there-fore, embodies mechanisms designe-d toeliminate ball and pin jams in the pit of a bowling lane. This is due tothe fact that means are pro- `vided `such that even though balls andpins move rearwardly -in the pit together, pins are positively displacedout of the path of a ball which can move unobstructedly into the rangeof Aoperation of the -ball lifting mechanism and be raised to adischarge station from which -it is returned .to the player at theapproach end of -a bowling lane.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide improved mechanismfor preventing ball and pin jams in the pit of a bowling lane.

It is la `further object of the invention t-o provide improved mechanismfor so handling balls `and pins in the pit of a bowling lane that i-t isrelatively impossible for them to cause jams and obstructions whichwould result Vin the game being delayed. y

The invention further comprises a resilient spring or pin deecting meansico-acting with balls and pins in the pit of a bowling alley, which isoperative lto separate balls 'from pins, thereby linsuring that jams ofballs and pins will be held to a bare minimum or entirely eliminated.

,The invention further -comprises the provision of -pin detlecting meanslocated in the pit of a bowling alley operative to deflect pins awayfrom the kick-back of bowling lane adjacent the ball 'lifting mechanismand thereby 'insure that ball and pin jams will be eliminated.

The invention further comprises the provision of resilient ball and pinengaging `and deflecting members which members are operative 4to deflectpin-s away from a ball lifting mechanism yet will yield such that abowling ball 'can be raised by the ball lifting mechanism,notwithstanding.`

With these and other objects not specifically mentione-d -in View, theinvention consist-s in certain combinations and instructions which willbe described fully `hereinafter and then set forth in the claimshereunto appended.

ICC

and bowling ball conveyor C which includes a pit-wide endless belt 10 ofa suitable ilexible material, such as rubber-impregnated canvas, whichhas la high coeicient of friction. Belt 10 passes over a pully `11located towards the rear `of the pit and driven from a suitable drivingsource, such as ya gear reduction motor (not shown) by a belt 12, .sothat the upper run of conveyor belt 10 moves toward thev rear of the pitP whereby any bowling balls and/for bowling pins which fall or are sweptinto pit? rfrom the alley (not shown) come to rest on the upper run orlap of belt 10, yand are carried thereby t0- ward the rear of pit P.Mounted in pin P is a backstop or cushion, B, whichmay be similar inconstruction and operation to that shown in my co-pending application,Ser. No. 15,297, tiled March 16, 1960, now Patent 3,107,917, grantedOctober 22, 1963. Back-stop B includes a lower straight edge 15 whichextends substantially the full lengt-h of the back-stop, and .a cut-outproviding an arcuate edge A16 located at one end lof the backstopadjacent a kick-back K of the bowling lane with which the mechanism isassociated. Edge 15 is spaced above belt 10 la distance greater than themaximum diameter of a bowling pin, but less than the diameter of abowling ball, such that bowling pins can pass beneath straight edge 15but bowling balls cannot. Arcua-te edge 16 has a radius of curvaturegreater than that of the radius of a curvature of the outer surface of abowling ball, the arcuate edge being spaced above conveyor belt 10, adistance suliioiently great to permit ya bowling :ball to pass beneaththe back-stop B.

As indicated in FIG. 2, conveyor C is arranged so that the upper lrunthereof is inclined towards the side of a pit P adjacent to arcuate edge16 of back-stop B. In this manner .balls carried by belt 10 Iand engagedwith backstop B move towards -a predetermined side of pit P. Referringnow to FIG. 1 it will be seen that extending transversely across therear of pit P is a pin chute 17 over which bowling pins Iare deliveredfrom conveyor 10 to a pin elevator (PE). Associated with conveyor 10 aretwo plowsw 18 (only one of which is shown in pit P) which direct pinstoward the center of the pin chute 17 for delivery into the pin elevatorPE. Since the pin elevator PE forms no part of the present invention,further illustration and showing thereof is -omitted in the interest ofbrevity.

Bowling pins and balls passing beneath arcuate edge 16 of back-stop B,usually continue to move rearwardly "for discharge by conveyor 10 intopin elevator PE and ball elevator BE, respectively. In the normaloperation of the machine this manner of handling balls and pinscontinues without interruption. However, if for any reason pins andba'lls moving rearwardly on belt 10 and passing beneath arcuate edge 16enter the Zone of operation of belt lift -or elevator BE at the sametime and cause a jam due to vthe fact that the pin and balls areattempting to occupy the same space and also because of the shape of -apin, there may be pressure exerted by the ball against a pin whichcauses it to jam, .as against endless belt of the hall lifting elevator.

In order to insure further that there will be at all times a propermovement of bowling pins and balls passing beneath arcuate edge 16, andto prevent any possible jamming with balls to be elevated by ballelevator BE, there is provided means for deflecting such pins onto theadjacent plow 18 so that these pins are delivered Vwithout interruptionto pin elevator PE. In the illustrated embodiment this means comprisesan elongated iillerrstrip deflector 19 -attached to kick-back K abovebelt 10 (see FIGS. l, 2 and 3), and a resilient flap for spring 2@ whichis mounted on kick-back K and extends across the path of movement ofbowling balls and pins, and another resilient flap 22 which is mountedabove resilient flap or spring 2d on kick-back l., and which extends thepath of movement of bowling balls and pins in the path of elevation of aball by ball elevator BE.

As shown in FlGS. 1, 2 and 3, flap or spring Ztl is mounted in avertical plane. Preferably it is formed from a flexible spring metalsheet or other flexible material such that it will yield and pressagainst kick-back K when engaged by a bowling ball but will maintain itsrelative position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 when engaged by a bowling pinwhich weighs far less than a bowling ball so that the pin will be cammedor deflected thereby back onto conveyor belt itl out of the path oftravel of the bowling ball. In this way pins will be positivelyseparated by spring or flap 2d and the path to the ball elevator -willbe cleared of pins so that balls can move unobstructedly into therangeof operation of belt of the ball elevator. That is, flap or spring 213is sufficiently yieldable to allow a bowling ball passing thereby tobend it back against the kick-back and allow the ball to pass freely.However, Yhap Ztl is sufficiently stiff so that bowling pins which mayengage it are directed away from Vkick-br-nzk K and into adjacent plow18, the'mornentum of the pins being ineffective to bend flap or springZtl backwardly in the same manner that a bowling ball does.

Mounted beneath the upper run of belt 1b is a rearwardly extendingguide-chute 21 so 4arranged that, when a bowling ball rests on the upperrun of belt 1) above guide-chute 21, belt 1b is deformed, so as toprovide a rearwardly extending trough aligned with receiving portionofelevator BE. Ball elevator BE is of a type similar to that disclosed inmy patent, referred to hereinabove. Ball elevator BE comprises avertical conveyor 24 and a Vertical track Z5.

Conveyor 24 includes an endless belt 26 which passes around a lowerdriven pulley 27, over a pulley 28 located above pulley Z7 and operativeto increase the arc of contact between belt 26 and pulley 27, and aroundan upper, idler pulley (not shown) mounted on the end of a pivoted `arm(not shown) biased by a suitable spring (not shown) in order to maintainsuflicient tension on belt 26 to allow a bowling ball to be elevated bythe movement of belt 26.

The axes of the several pulleys are parallel and extend transversely ofpit P, the pulleys being so located that the forward run of belt 26 isspaced from track 25 by a distance less than the diameter of a bowlingball. Pulley 27' is driven by a belt 32 from a suitable source of power,such as an electric motor (not shown) so that the forward run of belt2.6 moves upwardly in the direction of arrow A, Yas shown in EEG. l. Themechanism for supporting belt 26 for proper operation may also be thesame as that disclosed inco-pending application Serial No. 195,920,tiled May 18, 1962, by Henry C. Congelli for Bowling Ball Handling andLifting Mechanism. Since thespecitic structure forms no part of thepresent invention, further description and showing thereof is deemedunnecessary, and is omitted.

As shown in part in FIGURE 1, track 25 preferably is inclined from thevertical at a slight angle. Track 2S is suitably supported for verticalupward movement on the frame of the machine (not shown). Attached totrack 25 at its lower end and forming a part thereof, is a ball guideelement 44, in the form of suitable elastomer, such as a rubber block. Asimilar ball guide element is affixed to the top end of track 25, and isnot shown herein, The specific structure and mounting of track 25 doesnot form a part of the present invention and reference is made to theco-pending above referred to Congelli application for a full disclosurethereof. rAs shown in FIGURE 3, block de includes a downwardly facing7surface and a pair of divergent downwardly inclined surfaces rle, soarranged that as a bowling ball passes beneath the block each of thesurfaces 45 and 46 engages the ball and thereby centers and guides it as-it passes beneath block 4d. This centering action properly aligns thebowling ball for pickup by the elevator BE in the manner (i. describedin full in the above referred co-pending Congelli application.

Referring now to FIGURES l and V3, it will be seen that located betweenthe operative lap or run of belt 26 and track 25, and mounted above theflap or spring 2t) is a llap or spring 2?; which extends outwardly intothe path of travel of a ball being raised by belt 26 as it is rolledthereby upwardly along track 25. The purpose of flap or spring 22, whichis made of the same material as spring Ztl, is to insure that if for anyreason a bowling pin were being raised by its engagement with a bowlingball as the latter is rolled onto or along track 25, when such pincornes in contact with flap or spring 22, it is deflected thereby awayfrom kick-back K to which ap or spring ZZ -is attached, and drops backonto conveyor 1@ which carries it past plow 18 and delivers it ontochute 17 for discharge into pin elevator PE.

As shown in FlGURES l and 3, flap or spring 22 is arranged to have itseffective operating face in a plane substantially at right angles to theplane of operation of spring or flap Ztl. Flap 22 is sufficientlyyieldable to allow a ball passing therby to bend it back againstkick-back K and allow it to pass freely, as it is rolled up along track25 by belt Ztl. On the other hand, flap or spring 22 is sutlicientlystiff so that when and if a bowling pin engages it, such pin is directedthereby back into pit P, whence it is travelled rearwardly by conveyorl@ past plow 18 and delivered onto chute 17 for delivery into pinelevator PE.

Operation Assuming that the bowling pin spotting machine (not shown) ofwhich pin elevator PE and ball elevator BE form operative parts, is inoperation and that pins and balls arriving in the pit roll or are movedrearwardly therein by conveyor belt 1t). .Due to the inclination of belt10 downwardly to the right, as view in FIGURE 2, bowling balls and somepins tend to move to the right or towards kick-back K. When a ballreaches the position where it deliects or deforme belt 1@ downwardlyinto guide 21, the ball will roll in the trough thus formed rearwardlybeneath arcuate edge 16 into the range of operation of ball elevator BE.

if for any reason a pin or pins and such pin or pins closely approacheskick-back K so that a possible jam between the ball and pin or pinsmight occur, deector 19 will tend to urge such pin or pins away fromkick-back K out of the path of travel on belt 10 toward ball elevator BEand the pin will move outwardly on belt 10 so that it will be properlydelivered onto chute 17 and discharged thereby into pin elevator PE. Ifelongated pin deflector 19 is not effective in dellecting such pin awayfrom the path of travel of a ball elevator BE, then as this pin movesfurther rearwardly in pit P, it will come into the range of operation offlap or spring deflector 2t). This deector will operate in the mannerdescribed above to cam or deflect this pin outwardly away from thekick-back K and on to the more central portion of belt 1t) so that itcan be directed by plow 18 and delivered onto chute 17 for dischargeinto pin elevator PE. If it should happen that a pin became positionedon a ball as the latter came un- -der the inuence of belt 26 and block44 on track 25, and

is raised with the ball, this pin is then acted upon by outwardlyextended curved spring flap or detector 22 and is cammed or deflectedthereby away from the ball, back onto conveyor lll which moves itrearwardly in pit P, past plow 18 and delivers it onto chute 17 fordischarge thereby into pin elevator PE.

It will be seen that the above described mechanism constitutes aneffective means for preventing pin and ball jams in the pit of a bowlingalley.

I claim:

1. A bowling ball and pin handling apparatus for use in the pit of abowling lane having a pit conveyor located between the kickback of saidlane, a pit backstop having an arcuate opening formed therein adjacentone of said kickbacks (a pin elevator, and means mounting said conveyorto incline towards said one of said kickbacks to influence the rollingof balls on said conveyor towards said one of said kickbacks wherebysaid ball can readily be moved by said conveyor or roll through saidopening readwardly in said pit, a ball elevator positioned to receiveand elevate said ball, and resilient means extending outwardly from saidone of said kickbacks into the path of travel of balls and pins towardssaid ball elevator, said resilient means flexing to allow a ball to passinto said elevator, but acting to deflect pins in said conveyor awayfrom said ball elevator for delivery by said conveyor to said pinelevator.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is aflexible metal sheet having a curved surface, and means mounting saidsheet with the inner curved portion of said curved surface positioned tobe engaged by balls and pins moving rearwardly in said pit, whereby saidsheet can flex back towards said last-named kickback under the greatedpressure extended thereon by a bowling ball, but operate to deflect pinsand direct them outwardly onto said conveyor for discharge thereby intosaid pin elevator.

3. The invention defined in claim l including an elongated stationarypin deflector, means mounting said deilector closely adjacent saidlast-named kickback to be engaged by and direct pins outwardly from saidkickback towards the center of said conveyor, and means mounting saidbackstop a distance above said conveyor less than the diameter of abowling ball, and greater than a bowling pin whereby balls can passrearwardly in said pit only through said arcuate opening.

4. Ball and pin handling apparatus for use in the pit of a bowling lane,in combination, a ball elevator comprising an endless belt and balltrack spaced therefrom, a pin elevator, a conveyor in said pit, abackstop extending across said pit between the kickbacks of said lane,said backstop being provided with a ball opening, means for directingballs on said conveyor passing through said opening in said backstop tosaid ball elevator, and a resilient deflector mounted between said beltsand said track and in the path of a travel of a ball to said ballelevator, adapted to yield when engaged by a ball enroute to said ballelevator so that said ball can be elevated to a point of discharge, andto operate as a deilecting barrier to a pin or pins and direct said pinsaway from said ball elevator for discharge by said conveyor into saidpin elevator.

S. The invention defined in claim 4 including an elongated ixed pindeector bar, means mounting said bar closely adjacent and above saidconveyor and in advance of said resilient deector, said deflector barbeing normally operative to direct pins into such position on saidconveyor that said conveyor will move them rearwardly towards said pinelevator free from engagement with said resilient deflector.

6. Ball and pin handling apparatus for use in the pit of a bowling lanecomprising a ball elevator, a pin elevator, a conveyor in said pit, abackstop extending across said pit between the kickbacks of said lane,said backstop having a ball opening formed therein, means for directingballs on said conveyor passing through said opening to said ballelevator, a resilient deflector mounted in the path of travel of a ballto said ball elevator, adapted to yield when engaged by a ball enrouteto said ball elevator so that said ball can be elevated to a point ofdischarge, and to operate as a deflecting barrier to a pin or pins anddirect said pins away from said ball elevator for discharge by saidconveyor into said pin elevator, said resilient deflector comprising acurved flexible metal sheet spring, and means mounting said spring onthe kickback of said alley adjacent said ball elevator.

7. Ball and pin handling apparatus for use in the pit 'of a bowling lanecomprising a ball elevator, a pin elevator, a conveyor in said pit, abackstop extending across said pit between the kickbacks of said lane,said backstop having a ball opening formed therein, means for directingballs on said conveyor moving through said opening in said backstop tosaid ball elevator, a resilient deflector mounted in the path of travelof a ball to said ball elevator, adapted to yield when engaged by a ballenroute to said ball elevator so that said ball can be elevated to apoint of discharge, and to operate normally as a deflecting barrier to apin or pins and direct said pins away from said ball elevator fordischarge by said conveyor into said pin elevator, and also a secondresilient dellector, means mounting said second deflector above saidfirstnamed resilient deflector and in an operative plane substantiallyat right angles to the operative plane of said rst-named resilientdeflector and in the path of travel of a ball being elevated by saidball elevator, said second resilient deflector being operative to directany pin being lifted with a ball back into said pit.

3. The invention defined in claim 7 wherein said ball elevator comprisesa generally vertical ball track and an endless belt conveyor spacedtherefrom a distance less than the diameter of a ball and extendingalong said track from a receiving station to a discharge station, andwherein said second resilient deflector is mounted between said belt andtrack and above said receiving station.

9. Bowling pin ball and pin handling apparatus for use in the pit of abowling alley having a kickback at each side of said pit, a pitconveyor, and a backstop mounted above said conveyor a distance greaterthan the diameter of a bowling pin and less than the diameter of abowling ball, said backstop having an opening through which balls maytravel rearwardly in said pit, a pin deflector mounted on one of saidkickbacks for directing pins engaging said dellector away from saidkickback and towards the center of said conveyor for movement thereby tothe rear of said pit, pin conveyor means positioned to receive said pinsand remove them from said pit, a bowling ball elevator, means in thepath of travel of balls on said conveyor to said ball elevator forpreventing the movement of pins to said ball elevator while yielding inresponse to engagement of a ball therewith so that said ball passesunhindered thereby to said elevator, Said lastnamed means comprising anarcuate flexible spring deflector plate, means mounting said deflectorplate on said one of said kickbacks adjacent said ball elevator with thecurved inner face there positioned to be engaged by balls and pins, saidplate being so designed as to yield and flex backwardly when engaged bya ball, but to resist flexing when engaged by a pin due to its lesserweight, whereby pins are deflected thereby away from said kickbacktowards the center of said conveyor. A

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein said ball elevator includesan elongated track and an endless belt having an operative lap spacedfrom said track a distance less than the diameter of a ball, a secondflexible spring deflector plate, and means mounting said second springdeector between said lap of said belt and said track and above saidfirst-named spring detlector plate and in a plane substantially at rightangles thereto whereby pins being raised by balls elevated on said trackby said belt are deflected by said second deflector forwardly onto saidconveyor.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,586,831 6/26Murphy 273-43 2,531,167 ll/SO Simpson 273-49 X 2,765,172 10/56 Zuercheret al 273-49 2,767,983 10/56 Holloway et al. 273-49 X 3,041,072 6/62Dowd et al 273--43 X 3,098,653 7/ 63 Gruss et al. 273-49 X DELBERT B.LOWE, Primary Examiner.

4. BALL AND PIN HANDLING APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE PIT OF A BOWLING LANE,IN COMBINATION, A BALL ELEVATOR COMPRISING AN ENDLESS BELT AND BALLTRACK SPACED THEREFROM, A PIN ELEVATOR, A CONVEYOR IN SAID PIT, ABACKSTOP EXTENDING ACROSS SAID PIT BETWEEN THE KICKBACKS OF SAID LANE,SAID BACKSTOP BEING PROVIDED WITH A BALL OPENING, MEANS FOR DIRECTINGBALLS PROVIDED WITHE A BALL OPENING, MEANS FOR OPENING IN SAID BACKSTOPTO SAID BALL ELEVATOR, AND A RESILIENT DEFLECTOR MAOUNTED BETWEEN SAIDBELTS AND SAID TRACK